On the 18th of February 2019, The Purnomo Yusgiantoro Center (PYC) attended the Roundtable Discussion Mission 2020 – Fast Tracking Indonesia’s Transition to Sustainable Energy and A Climate-Resilient Future. The interactive roundtable discussion was hosted by Mission 2020 and The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Indonesia in GGGI Indonesia Country Office. The participants discussed how to encourage and accelerate international support and investment in Indonesia’s energy future.

The roundtable discussion was attended by leaders of institution and organizations engaged in renewable energy and climate change mitigation and was led by Christina Figueres, as convener of Mission 2020. Mission 2020 is a global initiative that seeks to drive urgent action to limit the effects of climate change, particularly for the most vulnerable people and countries, by reaching a turning point on greenhouse gas emission by 2020. The event was also attended by Josaphat Rizal Primana (Director of Energy, Mineral and Mining Resources, Ministry of National Development Planning/ National Development Planning Agency/ Bappenas), Arief Anshory Yusuf (Professor of economics at the Departement of Economics, Padjajaran University, Indonesia), and Verania Andria (Senior Advisor for Sustainable Energy Strategic Program and Policies of UNDP) as the speakers.

The discussion began with presentation by Arief Anshory Yusuf as the first speaker who highlighted the opportunities and obstacles facing the low-carbon transition. According to him, to achieve a low carbon transition, it is necessary to strengthen several aspects:

The second speaker, Josaphat Rizal Primana, reveals 3 strategies to overcome obstacles in optimizing renewable energy; such as solid planning, channeling loan/ grant, and empowering regional government. Finally, Vania Andria, presented approaches on how to encourage and accelerate innovation in the energy sector in Indonesia with the purpose of attracting investment and funding sources.

Mission 2020 introduces the word “Gragent” at this discussion forum. The meaning of “Gragent” itself is to reflect that energy transition and transformation needs indeed to be GRAdual but is also urGENT at the same time. As a closing statement, Figueres shows appreciation for the plans that Indonesia has been put in place. “Yes, transformation needs to be gradual, but also urgent. All of these issues, as well as investments in the next 5-10 years, are truly going to determine Indonesia’s future,” she says.